To end out this 2019, I decided to post my first Operation: Last Train report. Though I’ve been mostly cobbling together existing miniatures to get this game going, it still took a while for me to get it to the table.
I’m using my Red Block figures from AT-43 to fill out my roster of volunteer soldiers. Here we have (left to right), Major Thomas Heap leading Rex Donner (pfc), Rinn Osbert (rgr – flame weapon specialist), Stewart Bog (medic), Jesse Tort (machine gun specialist), and Tuk Tuckerson (rifleman).
For the bugs, I’m using Mantic’s Dreadball units- the Locust City Z’zor team. Also from Mantic, I have a dropship they were giving away at a Gen Con meetup a few years back. The terrain is a map pack from Infinity and the civilians are various bargain bin Heroclix figures.
With the setup complete, my team was dropped in a few clicks away and hoofed it in. They could see the civilian structures and various hostiles milling about so it was time to get in there and stomp some bugs.
Donner takes point and picks off a Scratcher from long range. Major Heap has the team converge on the first structure, eliminating hostiles with extreme prejudice.
Tuckerson moves to flank and aces another Scratcher in front of the forward civilian structure.
With a large mass of the bugs in the center, Private Tort makes some noise and takes down another bug.
We definitely have their attention and more jump out to join the party.
Just in time for Osbert to open up a can of raid and flame the group. He ends up putting two of them down on their ass. The dumb bugs never knew what hit ’em.
Later, Tort provides clean up and keeps them on the ground. His clip has run out so he has to duck back to reload.
We’ve really stirred up the nest. The specialists have a hay day as the bugs line up perfectly for them. Osbert obliterates three bugs right away, letting Donner get closer in to the compound.
Donner downs another and the center is clear for now.
We’ve completely taken the left side of the compound and Tort goes to check the structure.
We’re too late. The building is a wreck and not a soul is left alive. There are two structures remaining and the bugs wouldn’t be here if there wasn’t some meat left to pick off the bones so we move on hoping this isn’t a bad omen.
Another bug comes out and Donner, enraged by the slaughter within the first house, breaks rank and charges the dirty Scratcher. His anger powers him through the armor-like carapace and the smoking ruin drops to the earth.
More bugs are arriving but off behind the right side of the compound. We have the center and decide to rush for the main structure.
Osbert catches some new bugs inbound to keep the structure secure.
Some more bugs catch the team by surprise but Donner and even Medic Bog hold their own and take them down.
Osbert checks the main building and we find a handful of survivors. They are pretty shaken having just been overrun. Major Heap takes Donner to the last building.
It is not pretty. The bugs tore this one up pretty bad. No survivors.
Donner is still on point and takes down a straggler looking to cause a fuss.
The comms are good and Helos One was already en route. Garrick sets her down easily near the main structure and we start the evac.
The teams head to the evac point but the commotion has really got the bugs agitated. They start coming in right near Helo One.
Specialist Osbert and Tort lay down suppressing fire to give the civvies time to get aboard. Unfortunately, these scratchers just won’t go down and Tort and Osbert are both out of ammo and out of time.
More bugs are coming in from the left flank.
Major Heap calls the teams in just in time to board and Garrick takes Helos One to the skies.
The bugs overrun the compound but the team is safely aboard with the survivors and we head back to the Falcata.
After Action Report:
We were too late. Checked the outer buildings but there were no survivors. We must have missed the bugs by mere hours. None escaped the smaller structures. Luckily, a handful of survivors barricaded themselves in the main structure. We were able to rescue them but the bugs were warming from the sounds of our fire fight and we couldn’t look for more.
-Major Thomas Heap, Day 1: The Farmhouse
So there we have it. The team stomped all over the bugs and we were able to find survivors but just not very many. Halfway through the game, I made a change to the Bug AI to start to make things tougher. I figured that they aren’t completely stupid and so any round that there is ranged combat, all bugs would move to the closest enemy (soldiers only) regardless of whether there they have line of sight. I found too often if the bugs spawned behind a structure, they would wander around aimlessly even while their friends are getting mowed down just a few yards away.
I also have them moving over all structures at normal speed. I like the idea of them skittering over structures and obstacles that humans usually have to go around. It can also give them cover and allow for ambushes more often.
All-in-all, it was a lot of fun. As I’ve said in the past about this game concept, I like the free-form nature and the charitable motive of the design. With that in mind, I’ll be donating $0.50 per survivor picked up in these games to the charity that Joe McCullough recommends in his rule book:
If you want to follow along with my reports and give as well, I’d love to hear about it or set up your own games and give the rules a try. Thanks for reading and I look forward to more gaming and hobby time in the new year!
Joe McCullough
Great write-up, and thanks for the donation!
Christian
Thank you and thanks for the game design!